The forgotten Dragon
by luksinatriks
Summary: No one ever spoke of those two absent brothers. Their separate tragedies had seemed like aberrations. Had they, in fact, been warnings that no one had heeded? This is the story of the Forgotten brother, the master of the 2nd Legion of Astartes. Witness the tragedy unfold and the rise and fall of Kurom the Primarch lord of the second Legion, Royal Dragons.
1. Chapter 1

Kianenad… the Eldar world for wasteland… how befitting to name such an ancient world… Otacan scowled. It was more then 3 standard human centuries since they crash landed here in this… gods forsaken world… In all honesty, he was surprised to find records of this planet being a paradise once. If he wasn't wiser he would have scowled at the idea that on this planet millennia ago humans and Eldar had coexisted. It hurt him… bitterly… He had once walked over all the crownworlds! He had once divined futures for all the Eldar race! He had once mastered such technologies that these primitives couldn't even comprehend! Had once… had once… those words ate at him. The Eldar empire… had fallen. The thought hurt him as he listened to the far of barks of mutated dogs and other wildlife.

"Isha preserve us…" he uttered in his melancholy as he felt wind on his face. His craftworld Suin'tann, the wailing spirit, had road out the psychic backlash caused by the deaths of trillions of Eldar, crashing itself into this world. Kianenad as the Eldar called it, had 3 continents, all of which more or less polluted by the radiation that was the fallout of the nuclear war that was waged here long ago. Suin'tann had the fortune of landing on the least polluted continent which had no human presence at all…. But for good reason. While the radiation here was comparably small, the beasts that roamed this place weren't and they would have presented a constant threat to the Eldar… were it not for their advanced technology and shielding.

"Brooding over the deaths again? By Asuryan, Otacan, your melancholy will be the death of you." Ishara spoke in the beautiful Eldar language and Otacan's face immediately brightened. The love of his long life had that effect on the old farseer. He turned his gaze away from the dangerous wilderness and back into his room on the large, crashed, spaceship. Gazing upon the beautiful woman he loved dearly he smirked. The wailing spirit was comparably a small craftworld, but it was home and with home and family he was every bit as rich as the Eldar empire was.

"Your parents were right to name you after Isha, my love… for every time I cast my gaze, my mind, my heart, upon you I feel revitalized." Otacan spoke as he placed his hand on his wife's chin. Well… there was ONE thing that made him immensely happy, that happened after the fall. He had gained what he had always wanted, but couldn't have had and that was an offspring. A daughter, which was now meditating behind his wife, oh how happy the old farseer was. Cheritalys had inherited the black hair that both her parents had, the beauty of her mother and the wisdom of her father. By the gods, thought Otacan, it was almost painful to look at her, for the joy was too great.

"What has our expeditionary fleet said?" Ishara snapped him back into reality. "Are the asteroids suitable for mining? Our bonesingers can make oh so much wraithbone." The woman spoke and Otacan nodded. While they lacked the resources to fix the craftworld and take it into orbit and raiding the humans on the other continent, while rather easy, would cost Eldar lives which Otacan wasn't willing to give, building additional vessels and sending them to orbit to mine for the resources they needed was easily within their grasp.

"The results are satisfactory, we will set up the unmanned drilling station soon enough." He said. It wasn't all dark, the population was on the rise and they were still experimenting with the Eldar paths. Still, the humans were his primary concern, for while only one organization on the planet (That they knew of) had access to firearms, the rest of it had fallen back to the medieval level of technology. Mutagon, mockingly named as such by the Eldar, was the most polluted of all the continents and that was where the mutants lived, as well as the outcasts of Bliskost, the third continent which housed several human kingdoms. Still, humans weren't on his mind… not today at least… Otacan sighed as he got his staff and his robes and his runes.

"I honestly don't know what your complaining about dear… we are better off that most other remnants of the Eldar race." Ishara spoke soothingly to him and he smiled as he gazed upon their daughter meditating. Alas… it was but a fleeting joy as he frowned.

"I wouldn't exactly call a man whos without limbs and neck deep in feces lucky just because the rest of his siblings had died… a comparison is not-" Otacan spoke with great annoyance but saw the face that his wife was giving him. "But your right… I have you two, more than any man here can ask for." He said as he kissed her on her cheek. She had her heeling duties and he had his leading ones. He contemplated on waking up Cheritalys from her meditation or just simply kissing her as well. No… he will let her gather her thoughts and control her emotions. With that he was out of their room and heading straight into the meeting room with the other seers of the craft world. The other 4 seers of the council were already present there and soon enough with a couple of exchanged thoughts the meeting began.

"Otacan. I trust you have the reports from our mining expedition." Ornelela spoke regally. Otacan nodded and responded properly.

"Yes! Im pleased to report that the automated mining will be assembled and will begin in but half the cycle latest! Korlayas, what about the beasts?" Otacan declared, finishing the subject as the thoughts were shifted and exchanged between the 5 seers which surrounded a large psychic focusing crystal.

"The beasts are retreating… and breeding! Each time one of our patrols hunts one pack down another rises, more fearsome, mutated and vicious. I fear that without drastic measures taken to erase their presence from this planet!" Korlayas spoke mentally, anger evident, but not explosive as it was cooled by reason and tempered into a blade.

"A drastic solution such as?" Otacan asked.

"Fire and plasma bombing their caves… it is far easier to recreate the flora and fauna then to endure this. Slowly they are taking away Eldar lives… that can be and must be prevented…." Korlayas stated.

"I am keen to agree with Korlayas on this subject." Harintias said, surprising everyone. "your concerns are justified farseer… but we lose lives for such trivialities… better we eradicate them completely and risk them trying to overwhelm us than to continue to suffer like this." The brown haired seer said. Otacan sighed.

"You know my only reason to fear such an attack is the fact that the fires and destruction will spread and it will be too taxing for us to steer those… animals… if they all charge the craftworld, we will be victorious, sure, but how many of us will perish?" Otacan said, but found to be the sole reason thinking like this. He was over… careful, he knew it. Over the years he saw the other seers change their stance and despite himself he slowly found himself agreeing with them. "But alright, I will consider it."

"You're the wisest amongst us, Otacan… you soly amongst us bare the ancient lineage of the nobles of the Empire… we will defer to you." Ornelela spoke reassuringly.

"Good then…" Otacan responded. "Let us shift to our gaze to our primitive… cousins…" Otacan said and the rest found themselves slightly giggling, despite their age and maturity. All except Korlayas.

"I would not jest Otacan… it pains me to even bare the resemblance of those primitives…" he responded.

"Things are all quiet in the human lands." Reryev gently spoke. "The humans mind us not one bit at the moment." She added.

"Good… we all have our duties, we should seek to them!" Otacan said at the weekly debrief. They slowly changed the pace and the form of the meeting.

"How is young Cheritalys, Otacan?" Ornelela asked and Otacan instinctively sighed.

"Good… a lot better than… A lot less adventurous and defiant than I was in my youth…" Otacan said and there were psychic giggles in the air. "It pains me to restrict and restrain her… she does far better than I would have but… I fear it is not enough… we must stick to the path." He spoke plainly.

"She will learn… she has the best teacher one can hope to have." Ornelela comforted him. Just then a eruption was heard and the large, floating focusing crystal in front of them flared to life as it shone like a bright star. The seers all covered as they were blasted away by the psychic energy, feeling the earth shook bellow their feet.

"What is happening!?" Reryev asked fearfully.

"The warp is tearing itself asunder!" Korlayas declared as they regained their footing, the earthquake subsiding.

"How can this be!? Is the sea of souls opening itself upon us!?" Ornelela declared as Otacan's fast Eldar mind races.

"FARSEER!" a guardian came in, shouting. "A object is falling from the heavens! It is neither a comet nor a meteor but its… something!" the guardian said.

"WHAT?!" Otacan asked as he opened his interface for all to see. A large trail of fire was plummeting down to the earth rapidly as everyone stared and gasped from the image on the sensors.

"The warp spat it out and now it is falling right down. Eta for the fall is-ah!" The guardian declared as the object hit the ground, sending another earthquake as everyone braced for impact. The Eldar superior agility negated any potential threat as Otacan got in contact with the surveillance teams.

"Start up the raiders! At least 3 squads of guardians get ready! We will read the threats of future and tell you how to proceed!" Otacan ordered with his com link. With a nod to the other farseers they began their collective vision.

* * *

Imagines were everywhere, rapidly moving, shifting as horror gripped the hearts of the farseers deep in trance.

 _A werewolf, a vampire, a angle of darkness… hordes of armored monstrosities descending on the craftworld, all led by a golden devil with insurmountable power. Women and children are screaming as they are being slaughtered, the aspect shrines desecrated and the craftworld sullied as its infinity circuit goes cold._

The farseers tried desperately to weed out the false strands and to leave out the single true future for them to read, looking for any way to alter and change it. There! One vision stood out.

 _A mighty dragon stood before the monsters… A mighty_ _ **Kurom**_ , _sword in hand as the golden devil pointed at him, ordering his minions to attack and attack they did. The dragon fought bravely as the armies of the Craftworld wailing spirit fought besides him.  
_

* * *

"Ahh!" Otacan yelped as he felt sweat pour down his forehead, like it did with the other farseers. He had not been this excited since the fall!

"What… what does that mean?" Ornelela asked.

"Where the Kurom stands before the ancient ones, defying his own kin, the shroud of safety will be laid down." Korlayas declared as everyone agreed.

"Guardian… lead me to the raiders." Otacan declared as he gathered himself.

"Otacan wait! Its dangerous!" Ornelela spoke out.

"And If I die the 4 of you must remain here to guide our people!" he declared as he rushed to the raiders, feeling anxiety come over him. He still knew not what had landed out there but the guardians filled him in.

"It seems to be a pod of some sorts… the smoke is clearing out but the beasts are gathering and moving in… sire?" the guardian asked as they stopped in front of the raider. Otacan was at first shocked and surprised to see Cheritalys and Ishara there, but then remembered what type of Eldar his daughter was.

"Im coming with you, NO arguing!" Cheritalys said, her arms crossed. Otacan exhaled as he saw ishara place her hand gently on their daughter's shoulder.

"Cheritalys… I just had a vision that is of upmost importance for our people…" Otacan began but she cut him off.

"I had one two…" she declared and he blinked. "I saw you murdering a child… and causing doom for us all." She declared. He opened his mouth, shock fading as disbelief set in. "And I know what you will say! But it ISNT a false vision! Take me with you father! I wont take no for an answer!" Cheritalys all but howled as tears appeared in the corner of her eyes. Otacan looked at Ishara who nodded. Then he exhaled.

"Fine… but be on your best behavior!" he order her and her eyes brightened as she jumped, hugging him.

"Thank you father, thank you!" she declared. Otacan sighed, on top of everything he had to deal with this. Never mind, he will push this to the back of his mind as he focused on the task at hand. Boarding the raider the pilots took off with little chatter as Otacan held his oracle runes. 'May Asuryan save as all…' he thought prayers to the dead god.

"Otacan! Whatever that thing is, we cant sense it!" Suddenly radio chatter picked up across the raider. "We cant contact you! The warp is distorted!" Korlayas spoke over the machine. Otacan felt it two, the interference rapidly getting stronger as they approached the crash site. In the craftworld he could passively feel and sense the thoughts of hundreds and thousands of the inhabitants of the fallen craftworld. Right now he could not sense his own wife's mind… A sense of dread slowly crept into him. He was about to scream, being more psychically sensitive than the rest of the Eldar here, who were also clearly VERY uncomfortable.

"Sire, you should see this!" The Pilot declared and Otacan went to the front, looking out of the windows.

"By the ancients!" Otacan declared as he saw a sight that horrified him. The raiders hovered, circling above the crash site, the crater rather large for a small pod which crash landed in it. Still that was not what shocked the farseer. On the edges of the crater, stood the largest, tallest and most mutated beasts he had ever seen. Mutated birds flew around the raiders, but they did not attack, nor were the beasts aggressive. The clawed, winger and horned fiends which were the product of the radiation pollution all knelt in the direction of the pod.

"Pilot…" Otacan barely uttered, feeling weak as he could not access his psychic powers. Ishara supported him as he became determined to end the source of this horrifying… thing…. "Take us down…" he ordered.

"But sire." The pilot spoke fearfully as he two felt the blank zone.

"Do it!" Otacan ordered and the pilot obeyed, the rest of the raiders staying airborne as the craft landed in the crater. The smoke was gone and the fire long extinguished thankfully, as the fauna was vaporized and the soil unable to catch and sustain power. Ishara helped her husband out as their daughter walked besides them.

"ugh! What is this head ache!?" Cheritalys asked as she rubbed her templates. "I can not sense my own thoughts, let alone yours." She said as the Eldar around her felt weak enough, some of them beginning to fall on their knees, their hands no longer able to support their shuriken weaponry.

"A blank, null field!" Otacan said as he felt his nose bleed. Just then as the Eldar collected themselves, their sensitive pointy ears picked up an eerie sound.

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAhhhh!" a cry was heard, but it was high pitched and full of fear and sorrow, a emotion which emanated and pierced even the hardened Otacan, coming from the crashed adamantine pod.

"Whats that!?" Cheritalys asked as she, her mother and father, struggled to walk to the pod.

"Wa-wa-WAAAAAAAH!" the crying became louder as they approached the pod, their very souls shivering.

"WAAAAAAAAAAAA **AAAA!"** The crying became louder as a dent formed in the pod. Otacan gasped as he saw it. Then another… and another.

"GET DOWN!" Otacan spoke, shielding his wife and daughter as the pod ripped itself apart, exploding as the wiring went haywire. Opening his eyes as the three to turned to see the remains of the pod, they heard the crying once more, this time clear and as loud as it can be, annoying them as only a cry of a baby can.

"WAAAAA!" the creature thrashed as the three approached to examine it. It was hideous.

"By Asuryan!" Otacan said as he held his head, feeling such intensity of blankness from the baby that he felt his head could explode any moment. His wife and daughter were on the verge of passing out as he gazed upon the creature. It was no Eldar, that was certain, despite its pointy ears it couldn't be farther from Eldar physique…. But neither was it completely human. A small but well-formed tail hung between its legs. It was male… that much was certain, Otacan thought as he saw the two stiff horns forming on the sides of the infant's forehead. Its skin was ashen but its hair as black as it could be as the child lay on its own pair of scaly, leathery wings. Damnation, even its nails weren't normal as claws formed in their places. "An abomination!" Otacan declared as the infant cried on, the farseer raising his staff to strike a killing blow.

"FATHER NO!" Cheritalys yelled as she all but threw herself in between the infant and her father. Otacan was perplexed as he bled from his nose profusely. Cheritalys eyes were bloodshot as she gazed at him.

"Move over child! This abomination is a threat to us all! The sooner we erase its existence the better!" Otacan spoke sternly. But then, something he did not expect happened. Ishara went to the infant, looked down at it and smiled. This baffled Otacan as his wife bent down and gently picked up the horrifying baby. Almost immediately it stopped crying and with it… the pain stopped. The null field was gone! He could hear his own thoughts again, as well as thoughts of others. The enormous pressure he felt on his head dissipated.

"He was just lonely…" Ishara said as the infant stopped crying, opening its eyes. Once more Otacan was horrified. They were pitch black with yellow, lizard like irises, again not unlike the Eldar. "And lonely." Ishara spoke and gently swung the naked baby and the baby laughed, its irises dissipating and its eyes becoming completely pitch black.

"You two cant be serious!" Otacan declared as he wiped away blood from his nose.

"This is the child Im supposed to save, father…" Cheritalys spoke gently and he looked down at her.

"You did say that a Kurom will stand besides us when the end comes… this looks like a little Kurom to me!" Ishara smiled as she gently swung the dragon baby who continued to laugh with pure joy.

"What do you want us to do with it?" Otacan gave up as he asked.

"We will take it home with us, of course!" Ishara said cheerfully and Cheritalys smile widened.

"Can we dad? Please!" Cheritalys asked, almost pleading.

"Daughter… wife… that child presents a threat to the entire craftworld! I cannot in good-" Otacan protested but Ishara stopped him.

"We can place him in a dampening chamber! He can obviously control his powers with his emotions." Ishara said as her path of the healer knowledge allowed her to make such judgments. Otacan exhaled.

"Fine…" the farseer let up. "But its on your heads!" He declared as he went back to the raider. "Guardians! Pick up the remains of the pod for further analysis!" he ordered as he boarded it.

"So mom, how shell we name our little dragon?" Cheritalys asked, standing beside her mother as the two gazed upon the newborn. It was… odd to say the least and there was no way of telling how the uptight and arrogant Eldar would react to it.

"Oh my daughter it is clear! Your new little brother will be the Kurom he is. A dragon!" Ishara proudly said, feeling motherly affection for the child she just adopted.


	2. Chapter 2

**Andronikos- wow! Very glad to have a first fan of this story so quickly! :D Thanks!  
**  
 **Nasgrill- Maybe :D**

 **Guest- Wow... xD thank you so much for your generous comment and your praise but Im afraid I cant reveal too much... you will have to wait and read to find out, but dont worry I have it all figured out :D**

"eheheheheh!" little Kurom laughed as Ishara played with him. Otacan couldn't believe her smile… and the child still reeked of whatever thing it was in before it arrived here. Perhaps her motherly instincts were just that height? He recalled her being over affectionate with Cheritalys when she was a baby. Otacan smiled at the memory, a thing Ishara noted as she played with the infant.

"Here, dear. You hold him for a bit." Ishara said gently as she handed young Kurom to her husband. Otacan didn't refuse, but he eyed the infant suspiciously. Kurom went quiet for a moment as he examined his new holder. Otacan had a stern, serious look on him as he examined the boy his wife wanted to adopt. Suddenly, the infant laughed.

"Well… its better then you crying…" Otacan said, smiling begrudgingly. He had forgotten what joys a child can bring… and just then Kurom pissed on him, Otacan's smile fading as the child urinated over him slowly. He had also forgotten what headaches a child can bring… "Ishara! He has wetted himself over me!" Otacan declared, trying to be professional as they were in the med bay, Ishara working on the dampening chamber where they would house Kurom. Frankly Otacan wanted to put him there, not feeling too safe around the mutated infant.

"ihihihih!" Ishara laughed, completely unpassed with her husband's predicament. "get a drone to give him a diaper." She said as if it was nothing. After Otacan had done as she asked, she opened the door to the dampening chamber and nodded to Otacan, who carried the infant in. Kurom wiggled about, strong as a grown Eldar, despite his age as Otacan laid him down. Now looking down at the giggling infant, Otacan begrudgingly smiled once more.

"Its not your fault for being born…" Otacan admitted as he exited the chamber. Approaching Ishara who was working with the multitude of scanners, daring not to probe the infant with her psychic abilities for the fear of a psychic backlash, nor wanting to cut him open.

"Whatever he is… he isn't human." Ishara commented as she ran over the scans which examined the infant in the room as they watched him through the psy resistant glass, material only made by the Eldar.

"That much is apparent." Otacan confirmed, rather grumpily.

"You don't understand…" Ishara explained. "Wings, tails, horns and claws aside… he has MULTITIDUE of additional organs which seem to accelerate his… everything! Strength, speed, endurance, memory, metabolism and all of his senses!" She declared in shock. "This could be achieved only by the highest flesh crafters of the Empire!" She declared, looking through the class at the confused infant.

"I don't know who created him, but he was certainly no Eldar… for while the effort and imagination put into him was great, he seriously lacks on the aesthetic part…" Otacan commented and Ishara gave him a frown.

"Don't talk like that about him!" she scolded her husband who rolled his eyes. "Even with my knowledge, I can not tell you much… I can not tell you basically anything about his psychic or blank powers… I can not tell you how much he will grow or how fast… nor how smart he will be…" Ishara told him but Otacan gently caressed her cheek, comforting her as he pressed his fingers against his eyes. He didn't like this… not the situation itself, but rather the fact that for the first time in centuries he was forced to think on the fly! He preferred it when he had plenty of time to think of his actions and to make decisions. To relieve the foolishness of youth! Not that his wife was helping him too much.

"How shell I referee to him then?" Otacan said and surprisingly, Ishara giggled. The old farseer couldn't believe himself as he felt his grumpiness alleviate. She was beautiful when she smiled… he recalled how she laughed at his complains when he met her… Ishara bounding his wounds as he lay in the med bay.

"Ga?" The infant asked as invisible scanners relayed the 3D images of his insides. "ga ga?" It asked as it wandered about the chamber, its black environment contrasting against its gray and black form, his white diapers sticking out.

"Shouldn't we restrain him?" Otacan asked and Ishara gave him a very stern and serious frown. Otacan wanted to ask why she had it but he knew better.

"Restrain a child…" She scolded him as she ran over the analysis.

"You said you don't know how strong he is." Otacan countered. "If he is strong enough to punch through a adamantine capsule, shouldn't we test?" the farseer asked. Ishara held onto her frown.

"Lucky for you we have to resort back to the regular psy testing…" She commented angrily. Otacan was surprised by the amount of love his wife poured into this creature. "YOU go in and set him up." She spoke with anger and determination, asserting herself as Otacan exhaled. Lucky for her he was not in the mood to argue. Pressing in the code and going in, Otacan saw that Kurom immediately looked into his direction, laughed and went towards him, giggling happily.

"Alright young one…" Otacan said as Kurom held his robe in his clawed hands. "Time to see what type of headaches you can cause to people." He jested as he picked Kurom up and pressed him against the circular device which was meant to absorb all the psychic emissions it could. Mumbling something as the restraints came, fitting to a size that would suit Kurom's age. They were made of the toughest variation of wraithbone, the same stuff the anti grav tanks of the craftworld were made of. There was no way Kurom could break through this. With that Otacan left the chamber once more.

"Starting testing." Ishara said as Kurom called out for Otacan, his baby language but gibberish to the advanced Eldar minds which examined him. Slowly, the device came to life, starting to glow against the skin of the baby.

"Uhhhh…" Kurom said as he was mesmerized by the myriad of sounds and colors…. Then the device reacted to with his immeasurable powers and untapped potential. Suddenly the device hissed as Ishara gasped. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Kurom yelled as his instinctive, primal side took over. He thrashed as the restraints slowly gave way.

"By Isha!" Ishara declared as she immediately shut down the machine, Kurom falling down with his restraints as he loosened them from their sockets. The two parents watched with fear as Kurom cried, examining the restraints as they… fell off of him. Kurom was curious as he saw he could grow and shrink his arm at will and so were his adoptive parents.

"This shouldn't be possible…" Otacan commented as he rushed to open the door and to calm the infant who once again began crying. As soon as the door opened Kurom saw him and rushed towards him. A part of Otacan readied for a fight as he knew not how to predict Kurom's actions… as he could not read his thoughts.

"Father!" Kurom suddenly spoke in perfect, fluent, childish Eldar. This shocked the farseer as the child hugged his leg and looked for protection.

"You can talk!?" Otacan gasped as the kid buried his face in the farseers robes. Otacan placed his hand on the top of the baby's head, oddly feeling parental affection as he smiled, Ishara looking at the two from the side with great concern.

"What happened?" Cheritalys asked as she rushed into the room upon hearing the ruckus inside. Otacan sighed as he turned to his daughter, still gently holding kurom's head.

"Go Kurom… go to your sister, she will take you to our house…" He told him and Kurom suddenly brightened as he looked at the perplexed Cheritalys.

"Sister!" Kurom suddenly declared as he charged and hugged Cheritalys's leg as well. Cheritalys went back and forth in looking between her parents and her brother as she was stunned. Her parents smiled at her as she gathered herself.

"Yes… lets go little Kurom." She said as she reached down, leaving the room with him. As soon as they were outside Otacan turned to Ishara.

"I… I don't know how to explain this… according to the readings he is both the blankest blank and the strongest biomancer…" she told her husband, who struggled not to dismiss the idea outright.

"that's impossible… no creature can be BOTH a blank and a psyker…" he told her categorically.

"Kurom is no ordinary creature…" Ishara responded with great concern. There was a short pause as the two thought this through. "According to my power readings, he is a perpetual… or very near it…" she admitted and she saw her husband shake with anxiousness. "Are you alright." She asked plainly

"What did we bring to our home…" Otacan said but before Ishara could scold him for referencing their son that way he continued. "It will be a great honor raising Kurom… he is destined for great things!" Otacan said as he felt he flew and rested upon the strands of fate. Ishara smiled, happy that her husband has agreed to her desire. "I just hope he can control his power… and not use it, intentionally or otherwise, to harm us…" the farseer said with concern.

"He wont if we raise him right… and that's our job." Ishara said and the two shared a hug as they ran over the scans once more looking for more detail.

* * *

"Come on little brother…" Cheritalys spoke in her melodic voice as she held a spoon filed with nutrients, hovering it before the infant who looked at it with great curiosity. "Open wide, you have to eat to get big and strong." Cheritalys spoke as she felt immense happiness. She had inherited her mother's motherly instincts… and her father's broodiness. Kurom sniffed the mash in the spoon as he opened his mouth. "There we go." Cheritalys said as she pushed the spoon in his mouth. The child sucked the mush in the spook as his sister noticed that he already had fangs, his teeth small but sharp. She smiled with joy… and then she pulled her hand back as she yelped.

"AAH!" She moaned as she took the spoon outside of Kurom's mouth, leaving the child perplexed as she felt immense pain in her index finger. Holding her hand she saw that a bit of greenish saliva was eating away at her skin and she quickly deduced it was acid. She bit her lip as she looked sternly at Kurom. "What are you!?" she asked angrily as the pain continued radiating from her fingers. What creature had acid as spit? Just then she saw he was looking at her with sadness as his eyes were becoming more and more teary. 'Oh damn…' Cheritalys thought as suddenly the child cried out and started crying once more. She immediately gripped her psychic head as she felt IMMENSE pain from the blank field that radiated from the crying child.

"Shush little Kurom shush!" She tried to comfort him as she held her head which throbbed. Well at least we know his power can be triggered by emotions… she thought as she tried in vain to calm the child. "WHATS WRONG!" She asked as the pain became unbearable.

"WAAAAAAAA!" Kurom pointed to the mush before him as he spat out his food. What was wrong with it? It was regular baby food for Isha's sake… Same thing she ate as a baby! Did he not like it. Reluctantly Cheritalys went to take a spoon full of it… only to notice that the synthetic spoon had already disintegrated due to the acid saliva coming from the child. Moaning she dipped her finger into the mush and tasted it. It was stale and tastless.

"Ugh!" Cheritalys moaned with displeasure. Just then the kid stopped crying… and the pain stopped… he even began laughing as his sister looked at him. "Whats so funny?" she asked and the child stopped laughing, looking at her neutrally. Then she realized and made the same disgusted face she made when she tasted the mush and indeed he laughed again.

"It's a good thing mother isn't here… if she found out I mixed baby food with military issue protein paste she would have killed me." Cheritalys declared as she went to patch her injured finger and to look for REAL baby food. Her finger was alright but the food was nowhere to be seen and she dreaded that Kurom would begin crying any moment now. Reluctantly she took sugar and rice, mixing it and milk with the paste. Kurom watched eagerly as he observed what she was doing.

"Just TELL me your allergic to any of this and…." Cheritalys said as she realized how stupid and pointless it was too insult and threaten the child. Sighing she placed the bowl before him. Looking for another, sturdier spoon she was shocked to see Kurom digging into the mush with his bare hands. Did he know the taste was altered? Was he too hungry or smart enough to figure the taste will be different? In either case he ate it all and licked the bowl clean with his black tongue, Cheritalys watching with awe as her brother took the plate and offered it to her, as if saying 'more please'. Just then the plate shattered in his hands due to his acidic spit.

"Fine!" Cheritalys said as she took the remains of the plate to clean them up carefully, not to injure herself. "But if you get a belly ache and if you think Im helping you poop and cleaning up!" she declared but he just laughed. She smiled and rolled her eyes as she went for more military paste. "Just you wait till you learn to speak." She commented as she wondered if she was like this when she was a child.

"Sister." Kurom said and Cheritalys stopped in her tracks, turning to face her brother once more. Kurom had spoken the word before, but it would seem it was the only word he knew… at least to her. She watched the baby who already seemed a good couple of centimeters taller, his horns and tail most notable in their change.

* * *

"There." Ishara said as she lay down Kurom in a bed. He yawned… it was both beautifully innocent and eerie as it sounded partially like animalistic whine… or dampened roar. Still the two women admired the child which curled up around himself and fell asleep. Another child meant a lot of work. Otacan was with the council discussing the fate of Kurom as they stood there.

"Mom… do you think they will let us keep Kurom?" Cheritalys asked as Kurom purred in his sleep, breathing peacefully as Ishara hugged her daughter from behind.

"I can only hope so, my daughter." Ishara responded. "I must warn you thought." She began. "We have no idea how fast he will grow… but we know it will be very fast compared to an eldar… so enjoy your time with him while he is still young, small and cute." Ishara explained to her daughter.

* * *

"YOU WHAT!?" Korlayas asked loudly as Otacan made his proposition.

"I want to adopt him." Otacan responded calmly. The farseers looked at each other in confusion as they thought their most ancient and wise member had gone mad.

"With respect, Otacan… have you thought this through?" Ornelela asked as she thought on this subject as well.

"Yes! Have you at least gazed into the future? Have you at least glimpsed the consequences of such an action?" Korlayas asked.

"Hear me out, colleagues…" Otacan calmly asked the four stared at him as thoughts were exchanged. "I have tried delving into the myriad of fate strings that stand before us… " he said and made a small pause. "But whenever I would try to focus on Kurom's destiny with us, the vision blurred and fell apart… I have concluded that I can not probe his future due to his blankness… and yes, I have tried various methods. At best I can focus on other characters, some of you here in fact and see glimpses of your interaction with him… I apologize if this sounds arrogant of me but… if I can not gaze upon the future of this child, I doubt any of you can. Correct me if Im wrong." Otacan spoke regally and the other farseers took their time deliberating. Once more Korlayas was first to speak, seeing that no one could discern the mutant child's future.

"Even if so. Isnt that exactly the reason why we should get rid of him? The uncertainty… I mean why are we even here if we can not predict the future for our kin? Have you thought of the dangers? We all read the reports your wife gave us! A powerful biomancer AND the biggest blank anyone of us has ever seen WHO can turn his blankness on and off?! THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE!" Korlayas said and Otacan could sense the fear in him. It wasn't an evil fear… it was a good fear for all their safety.

"And yet he exists!" Otacan said. "I know appearances and aesthetics are subjective Korlayas… but power isn't and you yourself saw them." He responded and Korlayas bit his lip, thinking of what to say.

"your right…" Korlayas admitted. "But THAT is another reason why we should-" the younger farseer commented but Otacan cut him off.

"Investigate this further! We could learn from this!" Otacan argued. Korlayas looked at him with a look of disappointment.

"Such same experimentations led to the downfall of our race…" Korlayas said bitterly and saw Otacan grow darker, feeling his sorrow mentally as their psy powers mingled. There was a moment of silence. "I shouldn't have said that… Im sorry." Korlayas said and Otacan nodded.

"And I shouldn't have cut you off… I apologize." Otacan commented.

"We all want whats best for the craftworld… we cant allow ourselves to bicker like young children." Ornelela commented and everyone agreed. "Otacan… why do you want to adopt this child? May I ask since I know you always wanted to sire children, even before you came to our craftworld all those centuries ago." She asked and everyone paid attention to Otacan who felt like he was being interrogated.

"I will not deny that some small part of me want another child, even this child… but in all truth my wife and my daughter are far more enthusiastic about him than I am… For starters I want an Eldar child as it is my duty to ensure the survival our race… Secondly I know that if I adopt this child… while I and my family will love him like our own, the craftworld will not see it that way… he would be treated as a second class citizen at best…" Otacan spoke with a heavy heart. "But in all honesty, advantages and disadvantages aside I think he is the dragon of our visions… and as such it is destined for us to take care of him and raise him as one of our own." Otacan said and this silenced everyone.

"So he will either be our savior or our executioner…" Korlayas commented bitterly.

"Still… I as well am not enthusiastic about the idea…" Harintias spoke finally as before he merely observed the conversation. "But I will say that we saw what will happen if we stand alone… The biggest problem I see in keeping him around is… well frankly, when he grows up and assuming we train him… he will be unstoppable… how are we to kill him if he goes rogue?" Harintias pointed out. "Then again… I am not the one to risk but if I must choose between the two risks Id rather chose the lower one of raising him… if we kill him right now there is a chance we can kiss the prophecy goodbye."

"AH! But do we know HE is the dragon the prophecy speaks of?" Korlayas pointed out.

"While I do agree the prophecies are known to be cryptic, fangs, claws, horns, tail AND wings do tell me that there is a chance for Kurom to indeed be the dragon of our vision…" Otacan admitted.

"So you even named him." Korlayas scolded.

"I am usually against killing the infant…" Reryev spoke finally, the woman carefully considering her options. "But are we absolutely sure we can not come up with a compromise solution?" she sharply said.

"What do you propose?" Korlayas asked.

"We allow Otacan to adopt Kurom… but we find a way to… eliminate him if he becomes a peril for our species." Reryev proposed and everyone breath a sigh of relief as they agreed to this.

"The question is how?" Korlayas commented. "A collar which can explode and can deny his powers?" he asked.

"No… he will outgrow it and it will constantly be changed… allowing him to escape… not to mention that he, given enough time, could either shrink his head or squirm out of it as he develops his biomancy skills." Otacan explained.

"A micro explosive device planted within his chest." Ornelela offered.

"Again… biomancy, he could push it out or change his physiology to disable it." Otacan countered and Ornelela sighed.

"The cube?" Ornelela finally offered.

"That… could work… combined with something that can hold his blankness in check…" Otacan admitted. Still the realization that he would always have to carry with him a piece of technology which could imprison his son in a micro dimension was… terrifying. Then again he had no choice.

"I… don't like this… Id much rather we'd have a conventional means of dealing with this but… I will approve of it… " Korlayas relented and with that the question was settled. Otacan had officially adopted Kurom… Now all he had to do was figure out how his non Eldar son would fit in with the rest of the people on the craftworld.


End file.
